One effect from the occurrence of accidents, storms, and natural disasters are incidences of failed power lines. Failed power lines result in a loss of power for businesses and residences.
For residences, having a failed power lines causes several hardships. The residence inhabitants can be without necessities such as heat, air conditioning, and water. The residence may also be without communications (phone, television, computer access and the like). Additionally, the inhabitants of the residence may not be able to prepare food, keep food refrigerated and the like.
For businesses, a similar set of hardships result from a failed power line. Besides the hardships mentioned above with respect to residences, a loss of power for a business could result in lost revenue opportunities since the employees of the business may be unable to perform job tasks. For example, a sales office may be unable to utilize their phone system to place calls to current or potential customers, a customer service organization may be unable to field calls from customers and the like.
Failed power lines can also result in a dangerous environment. In a situation where a “live” wire is down, the potential of the live wire being contacted by humans, animals and/or vehicles is great. This can lead to injury or even death. It is thus desirable to locate the occurrence and location of a failed power line as quickly and as safely as possible, such that appropriate corrective measures can be taken.